I love making these plum and grape flowers. I present them on a large board as a part of a gin and tonic garnish platter. I’ve done a couple of videos for you today to show you how it’s done. Grape flowers/roses! The second grape rose is an ‘easier’ version (less petals though). A plum […]

A plum ‘succulent’ looks super awesome and it’s actually easier to make than the grape roses.

Present them as a part of a gin and tonic garnish platter! The guests can garnish their own drinks and it’s super easy/stress free in a large party setting. Watch how fast these grape and plum garnishes disappear! Better make a massive batch!

Cheers! I hope you have a go at making these and feel free to comment or email me if you have any issues!

One little tip is to use a pairing knife (or a very sharp knife). You’ll find it a million times easier.

As you may already know I often use activated charcoal to colour my drinks jet black. Maybe what you didn’t know is that activated charcoal is commonly used to treat acute drug overdoses in the emergency department. Activated charcoal can bind to certain chemicals which renders the compound invalid/non harmful to your body. So if […]

As you may already know I often use activated charcoal to colour my drinks jet black. Maybe what you didn’t know is that activated charcoal is commonly used to treat acute drug overdoses in the emergency department. Activated charcoal can bind to certain chemicals which renders the compound invalid/non harmful to your body. So if you are taking medication, please talk to your doctor before consuming cocktails containing activated charcoal as it may alter the effectiveness of the drug.

Ok, so the disclaimer out of the way……… the best thing about activated charcoal (as a cocktail ingredient) is that it’s odourless and tasteless. This means it won’t influence the final taste of your cocktail. If you go a bit heavy handed with it you may notice a powdery texture/mouthfeel. However this shouldn’t be an issue as you only require a small amount of activated charcoal to achieve an intense black colour.

Now you have some background knowledge on Activated charcoal lets look at how you can use it in your drinks/cocktails!

Some ideas include

Mixing it with simple syrup

Mixing it with spirits/liqueurs

Directly mixing the powder in your drink

Using it as dusting (like icing sugar) on top of your cocktails

Making black coloured ice (add to water then freeze)

Activated charcoal is perfect for occasions such as themed parties (Halloween), corporate events , fashion events, or even just adding a bit of intrigue when having guest over for a drink. It’s such an easy way to add flair and excitement to any drink or cocktail.

Let’s look at 3 different ways you can use activated charcoal in a cocktail.

1. I’ve made a gin and tonic featuring black and white ice cubes ( fill your ice cube tray with water to half way then freeze. Mix a little activated charcoal with water, top up your ice cube tray then freeze again. The trick is to actually under mix the activated charcoal and water solution. By doing this the powder settles at the bottom which creates the black stripe).

2. The next cocktail is a classic martini…..made black! As I’ve talked about earlier the issue with having a powdery finish when you use too much or undermix activated charcoal. To overcome this I used the activated charcoal ice (previous drink) to stir the ingredients with. This method indirectly colours the cocktail black (although not as intense) and ensures better clarity. I’ve garnished with a lemon peel and some white pansy flowers.

3. The final drink is a gin based spritz with raspberry syrup and, sparkling rose wine. I’ve mixed activated charcoal with gin and raspberry syrup in the glass before adding sparkling rose. This cocktail is super delicious and commands attention.

Thank you for reading and I hope you have a little more understanding and urge to use activated charcoal for yourself!

Ps. I haven’t really mentioned this to anyone and can’t really say too much but I’m in the process of developing a One Drink A Day DIY kit which includes a few products and tools with an accompanying instructions manual to help you easily recreate the types of drinks seen on my Instagram feed. I get a lot of messages asking me where to find a particular ingredient or comments regarding how badly their recreations turned out. I genuinely believe anyone can easily recreate my cocktails but don’t necessarily have the right tools or access to ingredients (activated charcoal powder will be one of the featured products in the kit!). That’s where I’ve stepped in to help !

So keep an eye out on my Instagram @onedrinkaday for future announcements! Have a nice day

I love making flower/rose garnishes using fruit and vegetables. Today it’s time to show you my dehydrated apple rose garnish. They look super impressive yet so easy to make! Start with some apples and a vegetable peeler (or mandolin). You should end up with something like this. Line the apple slices in an overlapping fashion […]

I love making flower/rose garnishes using fruit and vegetables. Today it’s time to show you my dehydrated apple rose garnish. They look super impressive yet so easy to make!

Start with some apples and a vegetable peeler (or mandolin).

You should end up with something like this.

Line the apple slices in an overlapping fashion (as above) then place into an oven (I had my settings at 80 degrees Celsius fan forced) for about an hour. What this does is makes the apple pliable for the rolling process.

Tightly roll the apple slices.

Secure the apple roll with a couple of toothpicks (in a cross + format) then using your fingers gently start opening up the layers to resemble a rose or flower.

Once you are happy with how they look place them back into the oven (same settings as before) to dehydrate.

I left the apple roses in the oven for about 10 hours.

My dehydrated apple rose garnish in use!

I hope you guys have a go at making this super easy yet impressive garnish and remember to share your creations by tagging me @onedrinkaday on Instagram!

Cocktails behind the scenes part 2! Today I want to share with you some behind the scenes action of what goes into producing the content you see on my Instagram feed @onedrinkaday . As some of you may already know I have a full time job as a Physiotherapist. This is why I try and […]

Cocktails behind the scenes part 2! Today I want to share with you some behind the scenes action of what goes into producing the content you see on my Instagram feed @onedrinkaday . As some of you may already know I have a full time job as a Physiotherapist. This is why I try and reserve my weekends for content creation. Pretty much what you are about to see is a standard Saturday for me!

I try and wake up around 7am then smash a couple of coffees to wake me up.

Then I sit and brain storm ideas. Personally, I really try and focus on the presentation of a drink first and foremost (I’ve decided on an all green colour theme in the above photo) given my main platform is Instagram. The flavour is obviously super important but Instagram is a photo sharing platform at it’s core and people generally are drawn to how visually appealing a photo is initially than the actual text/recipe (obviously if you have an amazing recipe as well as photo that’s the ultimate combination).

To add a little extra point of difference I cut the fruit into squares.

Vodka and soda water garnished with square fruit and mint! This is a great example of how a ‘boring’ drink can be made a little more presentable and intriguing.

After photographing the drink, I decide to freeze some water to make flower ice cubes.

I then wander into my garden. I love drawing inspiration from here.

Fresh herbs!

This plant is what I’m super excited about currently. I bought this finger lime tree a couple of years ago and yesterday I noticed some fruit!

Finger Limes are native to Australia and often referred to as lime caviar. They taste like limes but are shaped in little caviar like balls which explode in your mouth as you bite them!

Cucumber rose coming up! Another Instagram tip is to analyse your most popular posts and find out the reason(s) why (is it due to colour combinations, filter, props etc?). Once you narrow this down you should utilise it again and again (hopefully not in a spammy way though) for future posts. The cucumber rose seems to be the ‘X factor’ for me!

Isn’t it so pretty?

I made a gin and tonic garnished with the cucumber rose and finger limes!

After shooting the drink I go and pick some edible flowers!

So colourful!

After adding the flowers it’s time to go back to the freezer!

Next on the list; grape roses!

I froze the grape roses for about an hour (perhaps not fully frozen) and used them as a granish for the above cocktail!

After eating lunch, some exercise and a couple of hours down time, the flower ice cubes are ready. This pink lemonade is the recipient of the flower ice cubes!

As is this gin and tonic!

Ok, so I started writing this blog post at 4pm. From 7am till now I’ve photographed 4 drinks, had about 2hours break, did some exercise and ate some food! Hopefully this behind the scenes gives you guys some more insight into how I maintain my Instagram page. It definitely takes time and effort but I really do love the creative outlet it provides me.

Thanks for reading and make sure to tag me on Instagram @onedrinkaday to share your beautiful drink creations with me!

I love using cucumber as a drink/cocktail garnish, and today I want to show you how to create a cucumber diamond! First thing is to make a diamond template. Just google image search ‘diamond’ , copy and paste to Microsoft word, adjust the size (needs to be smaller than the size of your slice of […]

I love using cucumber as a drink/cocktail garnish, and today I want to show you how to create a cucumber diamond!

First thing is to make a diamond template. Just google image search ‘diamond’ , copy and paste to Microsoft word, adjust the size (needs to be smaller than the size of your slice of cucumber – you’ll see what I mean later), print then cut out.

Glue the diamond on a cardboard sheet for reinforcement.

Use some cellotape to laminate it.

This will make the template waterproof.

Diamond Template ready to use!

Cut a 0.5cm thick cucumber slice.

Place the diamond template over the cucumber then cut using a knife.

Now you have a diamond shaped cucumber.

Now we need to make the diamond appear 3 dimensional. Using the above picture as a guide, cut a line (make sure you don’t cut through the cucumber completely) along the blue line first followed by red, green and then yellow.

This is what you should end up with.

Make parallel cuts as close to the original lines as possible (a super sharp knife e.g. pairing knife or surgical knife will help a lot).

Use your knife (be gentle) to cut in a wedge like angle along the lines to form a ‘groove’. This forms shadow lines to make the diamond look 3-D.

My cucumber diamond garnish in a gin and tonic!

Thank you for reading and make sure to tag me @onedrinkaday on Instagram if you make these cucumber diamonds!

Today I’m going to show you how to create my candied rhubarb weave! Although it can take some time to make it’s such an impressive garnish for your cocktails. Let’s get started! You’ll need some fresh rhubarb to start. This rhubarb needs to be made into super thin strips. If you have a super sharp […]

Today I’m going to show you how to create my candied rhubarb weave! Although it can take some time to make it’s such an impressive garnish for your cocktails.

Let’s get started!

You’ll need some fresh rhubarb to start. This rhubarb needs to be made into super thin strips.

If you have a super sharp vegetable peeler you can use that but for me the above image is what I end up with more often than not. If you read below I’ll show you how to achieved super thin strips of rhubarb without using a peeler!

I find the easiest way is to first make an incision length ways (as close to the edge as possible) with a knife.

Use your hands to gently peel away this strip of rhubarb.

You should end up with something like this. You’ll find the end part of the rhubarb strip without any of the white part attached to it (this is a good thing as you’ll see below so don’t worry).

Using your fingers remove the white part away from the red skin of rhubarb (it should peel away super easily).

Continue this process until you have enough thin rhubarb strips (the larger the weave you want, the more rhubarb you’ll need).

Cut the rhubarb strips lengthways. I’ve cut the strips in half here but you can choose how wide you want your strips and cut accordingly. Try and keep the width as uniform as possible. (This is important for the weaving process).

Align a few strips of rhubarb vertically.

Feed more rhubarb strips in an over and under fashion horizontally. As you continue this process you should start to see a weave pattern!

Once you are happy with the size, tighten the weave as required.

The rhubarb weave should handle pretty well. Lift the weave and transfer it onto an oven tray lined with baking paper.

I brushed some grapefruit syrup over the weave but you can use regular simple or any other flavoured sugar syrups.

Bake the rhubarb weave in an oven at 80 degrees Celsius (fan forced) for about 30-45 mins. Keep checking it though as it can easily dry out.

After the baking process you should end up with a darker and caramelised rhubarb weave.

Trim/square off the edges.

Use a knife to help lift the weave off the baking paper.

The rhubarb weave should be malleable/bendy and more stable after the candying process.

Granita is a semi-frozen dessert made of sugar, water and other flavourings. These ‘flavourings’ can be fruit juices, herb infused syrups, liqueurs, etc. I love using granita in my cocktails and even as a topping for my gin and tonic. Granita has a coarse and almost crystalline like texture compared to a sorbet (for example) […]

Granita is a semi-frozen dessert made of sugar, water and other flavourings. These ‘flavourings’ can be fruit juices, herb infused syrups, liqueurs, etc. I love using granita in my cocktails and even as a topping for my gin and tonic.

Granita has a coarse and almost crystalline like texture compared to a sorbet (for example) which is a lot smoother. However after doing some research it seems the perfect texture of a granita is up for debate!

Today I want to share with you the easiest elderflower and lime flavoured granita recipe (contains alcohol too).

Combine everything in a large container. If you have a deep baking tray, even better (as it makes the scraping process a lot easier).

Freeze for 4-6 hours. I usually just leave the container in the freezer overnight.

It should look something like this once out of the freezer.

Start scraping with a fork.

Keep scraping and you’ll end up with this delicious granita! You can use it straight away or store in the freezer for later use.

I combined the elderflower and lime granita with Hendrick’s Gin and garnished with cucumber, lychee, silver sugar balls, and edible flowers. This is a great way to cool down during Summer!

Definitely give this granita a go, it’s super easy and delicious! If you can’t access Fever-Tree Elderflower Tonic Water you can use another flavour or brand but keep in mind this recipe is for a 200ml bottle with 15.6grams of sugar (so find something similar in sugar content- this is important).

Make sure to follow me one Instagram @onedrinkaday and check out http://www.fever-tree.com to find a stockist near you.

Alcoholic jelly shots seem to be a thing of the past. My rosè wine, strawberry and elderflower flavoured jelly shots may just bring them back into fashion! Let’s get started! The first thing you need to do is soak your gelatin sheets in cold water for about 5 minutes. I used 2 sheets here. While […]

Alcoholic jelly shots seem to be a thing of the past. My rosè wine, strawberry and elderflower flavoured jelly shots may just bring them back into fashion!

Let’s get started!

The first thing you need to do is soak your gelatin sheets in cold water for about 5 minutes. I used 2 sheets here.

While the gelatin soaks, prepare your rosè wine, elderflower liqueur and strawberry syrup (I made my own but you can use store bought too). For 2 gelatin sheets you can set about 1/3 cup of liquid. Check the packaging though as not all sheets come in the same size.

I used equal measurements of wine, elderflower liqueur, and syrup to make up about 1/3 of a cup of liquid.

After the soaking process your gelatin sheets should look like this. I used my hands to transfer them into a saucepan (shake off any excess water).

Heat on LOW until the gelatin dissolves and turns into a clear liquid.

Add the dissolved gelatin to the wine, elderflower and strawberry syrup mix then stir with a fork.

Pour the mixture into a couple of shot glasses.

This here called ‘pearl dust’ and it’s what will give the jelly shots an added twist.

Add about 1/4 of a teaspoon of pearl dust into each shot glass.

Give it a stir and observe the beautiful shimmer/sprakle!

Set the jelly in the fridge for about an hour.

Once the jelly is set you can choose to decorate it like I have with some candy!

Hope you have a go at making my rosè wine, strawberry and elderflower jelly shot and let me know if you have any questions! Today’s recipe made 1/3 cup of jelly but you can scale this up if you want to make more!

As you may have already seen on my Instagram, I recently got my hands on some Blue Majik powder aka Blue Spirulina. Blue Majik is an extract from an algae and has numerous reported health benefits, but for me I was more so interested in the blue colour of it. Unless you use Blue Curacao […]

As you may have already seen on my Instagram, I recently got my hands on some Blue Majik powder aka Blue Spirulina. Blue Majik is an extract from an algae and has numerous reported health benefits, but for me I was more so interested in the blue colour of it. Unless you use Blue Curacao (which has it’s own flavour profile) or butterfly pea extract (which can change colour when acid such a citrus is added to it) the colour blue is actually pretty difficult to achieve in a cocktail. Although Blue Majik has a fishy/seaweed (in my opinion) like flavour, in small quantities (especially in a mixed drink or cocktail) it is unidentifiable which makes it a perfect ingredient to make a simple syrup with.

To make the blue simple syrup you (obviously) need to make (or buy) simple syrup. This is done by combing a 1:1 ratio of water to sugar in a saucepan over a low heat until the sugar dissolves (in the photo above I used 2 cups of water and 2 cups sugar). After letting it cool to room temperature transfer the syrup into a jar then add a teaspoon of Blue Majik powder.

Close the lid of the jar and give it a good shake. Next, strain the syrup through filter paper/coffee filter. You can repeat this process a few times if you find undissolved powder in your syrup.

Blue simple syrup!

You can apply the above principles to other powders such as activated charcoal (black in colour) or green spirulina. The brown thing is the coffee filter paper I used.

Look how beautiful these syrups are (blue majik, activated charcoal and green spirulina)!

Here is the blue syrup in a blueberry lemonade.

Check out http://e3live.com.au if you want more information on where to buy Blue Majik. Although the link is Australian, E3Live is an international brand so you should be able to find your nearest stockist by searching on this webpage!

This is a blue lemon granita mixed with a rose wine + strawberry granita (as well as vodka!). The blue granita was made using the syrup featuring today. My next blog post will show you how I made this cocktail so make sure to subscribe.

Today I want to take you behind the scenes of how a a cocktail or drink ends up featuring on my Instagram feed. As you all know the primary platform I use to showcase my drinks/cocktails is Instagram @onedrinkaday. The photos which feature on my page need to tick a few boxes; from taste to […]

Today I want to take you behind the scenes of how a a cocktail or drink ends up featuring on my Instagram feed.

As you all know the primary platform I use to showcase my drinks/cocktails is Instagram @onedrinkaday. The photos which feature on my page need to tick a few boxes; from taste to (more importantly for Instagram) visual appeal.

The 4 points which I consider before designing a drink/cocktail recipe are

Taste

Colour

Reproducibility

Unique/ beautiful garnishing.

Documented below is an example of how a particular cocktail came to life.

So yesterday I was shopping at my local markets when I came across the most beautifully coloured Vietnamese Mint I had ever seen.

This Vietnamese Mint was coloured green with orange/pinky edges.

I was in the mood to make something super refreshing and so decided to combine some cucumber and the Vietnamese Mint. I made a simple syrup (1 parts sugar to water) infused with Vietnamese Mint and cucumber strips (in a jar for about 7 hours).

Fine strain the syrup.

The final cucumber and Vietnamese Mint syrup has a very beautiful green hue.

In a glass I combined 30mls of cucumber and Vietnamese Mint syrup, fresh lime juice (1/4 of a lime), and 30mls Hendrick’s Gin.

After adding the rose ice cubes, I topped the glass with soda water then garnished with Vietnamese Mint leaves and slices of fresh lime. This drink is a great example of how the 4 bullet points (taste, colour, reproducibility, and beautiful garnishing) combine perfectly to create an Insta-worthy photo!

Hope you guys enjoyed my behind the scenes run through of how I design and create my drinks/cocktails for Instagram! Make sure to follow me @onedrinkaday on Instagram and subscribe to this blog!